I highly recommend this movie. I'm also struck again by how different Alan is in the different roles I've seen him play, and how good he is at conveying an emotional depth of reality with very small gestures. In this role, he does lost and bewildered very well, and touched. He is light years from his Snape, and seeing him in this much older role and then pictures of him from OotP (filmed about the same time) he looks years younger in the latter. It's odd, but with Buffy fanfic, I had so many more visual stimuli from the TV show and from other roles I'd seen especially Tony Head perform, and they helped me see how characters in my fics would look and react to things. It's not at all the case with Snape. I have some images from the movies I carry in my head, but I have many more from the books, and from various fanfics, and really his other roles don't have much to say to me for Snape. Maybe I'm growing a little bit, that the words of a scene are starting to come to have more resonance and reality for me than "seeing" the scene as an observer. Don't know what to make of that, but I toss it out for whatever it's worth.

I'm looking forward to the release of Bottle Shock with Alan later this year. Of course, I'm also looking forward to the new Indiana Jones movie next week.

Getting new glasses cannot come soon enough here. I don't know if it's allergies, or just my body finally realizing the warranty has Expired, or what, but I am having a really hard time lately. But before I can get new glasses, I first have to make it to Friday, when the exam is scheduled.

In the meantime, Wee Hob is doing pretty well so far at this Clean Slate thing. Though tonight he wandered a little too far away and had me And the parents of the other two boys he was with yelling and looking for them. I was really scared when they didn't answer us, because the little strip of wood they were supposed to stay in wasn't that big, and older kids than mine have disappeared.

But he's all right, I let him live, and he seemed kind of stunned that I was so worried. Gee, mom really must care. Duh. And wow, she cares enough to take away his woods wandering privilege for a couple of days to reinforce the point. That's less cool, to him, but still.....

Tomorrow night, Wee Hob gets confirmed. That should be a blast, too.

I got the DVD of Sweeney Todd tonight-- the single special feature, a behind the scenes thing, was disappointing (not nearly enough Alan Rickman. But it has a great bit with him describing being in a rehearsal hall and having Stephen Sondheim himself walk in):

"One of the more challenging moments in one's life, is, when you've got the music in your hand and you're in a huge rehearsal room and Stephen Sondheim walks across the room and says 'Okay, let's hear it.' It doesn't get much tougher than that. But it's so tough, and it's so ridiculous what you're about to do, i.e. sing for Stephen Sondheim, that um, something in the body just says, well then, just do it."

I noticed, watching some of the DVD that the sound mixing in the movie is a bit better than on the movie soundtrack (where the orchestration is a bit too loud and overpowers the voices)-- you can hear some harmonies towards the end that Alan sings that drop out of the soundtrack version. Again, I can't help but admire both these gentlemen for the performances they turned in here. Especially hearing the above quote from Alan.

So, last night, I ran out of stuff to read, er, procrastinate with. Boy went to bed obscenely early (still not sure what's up with that.) And I got some pieces of two WIPs written.

I think I'm at the point now where I could use a beta or two on these fics. A good portion of the draft is there, but in addition to general reading for mistakes, I could use brainstorming on where these fics should go and someone to point out if I'm painting myself into canon corner. I have some plot decisions that are still up in the air on both, so input might prove invaluable.

Any takers? Comment on this post in the affirmative, and tell me what your experience, strengths are. Also need a contact e-mail. Of course, if I can return the favor, I'd be honored. Comments to this post will be screened.

ETA: I should point out that these are both fairly long fics. Speedy turn-around is not expected or required. Just a willingness to get enmeshed in the process. sahiya suggested a summary, which is also not a bad idea.

Thanks first to all who expressed support in my recent travails with the Church. For those who are interested, here's a site with some shots of the inside of the church in question. The second photo down shows the choir loft in which, or under which, I sing every Sunday and Holy Day. The fourth shows the stained glass window I face every week-- one of the largest in the world. With all the cool stuff to see in there, is it any wonder Wee Hob wanders a bit? And there are even cooler hidey holes and secret passages you can't see in these photos.